Adjustable jar or can opener



D. L. MURPHY.

ADJUSTABLE JAR 0R CAN OPENER. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 1 1920.

1,380,236. Patented May 31,1921.

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DENIS I1- IvIUEPHY, OF I-IYANNIS, BIASSACHUSETTS.

ADJUSTABLE JAR 0B CAN OPENER.

Application filed March 1,

To all whom it away concern:

Be it known that I, DENIS L. MURPHY, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Hyannis, in the county of Barnstable and State of Massachusetts, have in vented new and useful Improvements in Adjustable Jar or Can Openers, of which the following is a specification.

T he object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive and at the same time effective means 'for applying and moving can and jar caps or. covers par ticularly of the screw type such as those used in connection with receptacles for preserved fruits and vegetables, to avoid the inconveniences and the possibility of ineffectual seating 01": the caps or covers incident to the manipulation thereof by hand or when depending upon the manual grip of the *ap or cover, and with this object in View the invention consists in a construction of which a preferred embodiment is shown in the drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is an edge view oi the device.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.

The clamp consists essentially of a handle or lever 10 of such a length as to be conveniontly grasped in the hand of? the operator and a flat band or ribbon ll of sheet steel or its equivalent a tached at one end to an extremity of: the handle or lever as shown at 12 and detachahly and adjustably engaged therewith at the opposite end by means of perforations 13 in the hand engaged with hooks 14; on the lever or handle.

T he band or ribbon is preferably transversely corrugated throughout its length, or that portion of its length which ordinarily comes in contact with the can top or cover to be adjusted, to the end that a firm grip Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 31, 1921.

1920. Serial No. 362,287.

may be secured upon the top or cover when, after adjusting the band in length to suit the circumference of the cover, and engaging the free end thereof with the hooks 14:, the lever or handle is strained in the plane of the band in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2.

To the end that the gripping or clamping action of the band may be effected the inner end of the lever or handle is provided with an enlarged bearing head 15 constituting a rocker which serves to fulcrum the lever or handle on the side of the can or jar cover or cap, and the swinging movement of the lever or handle when thus tilted on the rocker head serves to strain the band and insure the proper engagement thereof with the cap, so that an effective tightening or loosening of the latter may be accomplished. The transverse cor 'ugations of the band also serve to increase the gripping action by reason of affording a limited stretch to the band when longitudinal strain is applied thereto by the swinging movement of the lover or handle.

What is claimed is:

A. jar cap clamp having a lever or handle provided at its inner end with an enlarged rocker head for hearing contact with the cap, a transversely corrugated spring,

band or ribbon secured at one end to the head and provided at the other end with a longitudinal series of openings, and a plurality of hooks carried by the lever or handle adjacent to the head for engagement with said openings to vary the diameter of the cap-engaging loop.

In testimony whereof I atlix my signature.

DENIS L. MURPHY. 

